Parker Solar Probe Touches the Sun (Kinda) - The Cosmic Companion 16 Dec., 2021
The Parker Solar Probe just became the first space to "touch" the atmosphere of the Sun!
Hello everyone!
The Parker solar probe launched in 2018 has now reached its destination — our parent star. Just like the Earth, our Sun has an atmosphere, called the corona. This is normally seen surrounding the blacked-out Sun during a total solar eclipse.
Now, the Parker Solar Probe from NASA just became the first spacecraft ever to journey inside this tenuous shell around the Sun.
Oh! I Wanna Touch It!
This encounter marks the first time researchers have been able to actually “touch” the material from which the Sun is made.
“Not only does this milestone provide us with deeper insights into our Sun’s evolution and it’s impacts on our solar system, but everything we learn about our own star also teaches us more about stars in the rest of the universe,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA.
The Parker solar probe launched in 2018, and has now reached its destination — our parent star.
The corona, a superheated stellar atmosphere, is held in place by gravity and magnetic fields. The outer boundary of the corona was in question, although it was thought to begin at a distance around 20 solar radii from the Sun. Parker first reported encountering the corona at a distance of 18.8 solar radii — almost exactly where astronomers had predicted. Parker later found the height of the solar atmosphere changes along with local conditions, as well as the sunspot cycle.
The First Ulysses Found Some Weird Stuff While Sailing, as Well!
In the mid-1990s. the Ulysses spacecraft found odd S-shaped structures in the solar wind, which races away from the Sun. Initially thought to be limited to polar regions of the Sun, Parker revealed these switchbacks are common throughout the solar wind, and originate in the photosphere — the outer visible layer of the Sun.
Switchbacks were found to be rich in helium, and were seen following the paths of magnetic funnels, which are thought to feed fast solar winds.
One of the great mysteries of the Sun is the fact that while the visible surface of the Sun has an average temperature around 5,500 Celsius (9,900 Fahrenheit), the stellar atmosphere reaches millions of degrees. It is as if temperatures were far, far hotter standing away from a campfire than touching the flame itself.
Researchers now suggest that switchbacks, fueled by magnetic funnels, might explain the extreme heating in the corona of the Sun.
During its closest approach to the Sun, the Parker Solar Probe will be traveling at more than 190 kilometers per second, or 430,000 miles per hour — fast enough to travel from Philadelphia to Washington D.C. in just one second.
Did you enjoy this episode? Get every article from The Cosmic Companion by email on Medium! Or help support The Cosmic Companion with a subscription to all the great writing happening on Medium.
To celebrate winter (Hey! I’m in Tucson - this IS the nice weather season!), we are offering 50% off annual subscriptions and 25% off monthly subscriptions! Makes a perfect last-minute gift for anyone who loves astronomy and space exploration (now you just need to search for a card! Win!).
Clear skies and enjoy the show!
James